Alex Blumberghttp://krwg.org
enPlanet Money T-Shirt Exposes Issues Of Work, Trade And Clotheshttp://krwg.org/post/planet-money-t-shirt-exposes-issues-work-trade-and-clothes
All this week, <em>All Things Considered</em> and <em>Morning Edition</em> has aired stories about the global journey a T-shirt makes from seed to finished product. Over the months NPR's Planet Money team spent reporting the series, they tackled questions about trade, work and clothes play in the global economy. There's a whole lot more about a simple T-shirt's journey from cotton to completion <a href="http://www.planetmoney.com/shirt" target="_self">here</a>. <div class="fullattribution">Copyright 2013 NPR.Fri, 06 Dec 2013 23:07:00 +0000Alex Blumberg55378 at http://krwg.orgPlanet Money T-Shirt Exposes Issues Of Work, Trade And ClothesThe Fiscal Cliff: A Love Storyhttp://krwg.org/post/fiscal-cliff-love-story
America, if you're scared by all the talk you've been hearing about the fiscal cliff, take heart: There are reasons for people across the political spectrum to love the cliff.<p>There's a lot for liberals to like in the fiscal cliff, says <a href="http://www.slate.com/authors.matthew_yglesias.html" target="_blank">Matthew Yglesias</a>, who writes wonky articles about economics for Slate.<p>Take the spending cuts.Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:32:00 +0000Alex Blumberg32377 at http://krwg.orgWhy The Falling Birthrate Is Bad News For My 2-Year-Old Sonhttp://krwg.org/post/why-falling-birth-rate-bad-news-my-2-year-old-son
The U.S. birthrate just fell to its <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/11/29/166181293/the-birth-rate-just-hit-a-record-low-thats-bad-news-for-medicare" target="_blank">lowest point since we've been keeping track</a>. Here's why that may be a problem for my 2-year-old son.<p>Right now, I, my colleagues and everybody else with a job is paying to support our parents, our grandparents and all the other elderly people in the U.S. who currently receive Medicare and Social Security.Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:54:00 +0000Alex Blumberg31016 at http://krwg.orgWhy The Falling Birthrate Is Bad News For My 2-Year-Old SonDoes Medicaid Make People Healthier?http://krwg.org/post/does-medicaid-make-people-healthier
A while back, Robin Boros lost her job, and she and her husband couldn't afford health insurance.<p>One time, Boros passed out, and her husband called an ambulance.<p>"The hospital bill, it was atrocious," she says. "We couldn't pay it."<p>They never figured out why Boros passed out. But after that, she and her husband avoided going to the doctor. At times, she says, she even bought blood pressure medication on the street.<p>"That was awful," Boros says. "But you do what you got to do."<p>Boros lives in Oregon.Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:59:00 +0000Alex Blumberg21475 at http://krwg.orgDoes Medicaid Make People Healthier?Why Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?http://krwg.org/post/why-does-mortgage-interest-tax-deduction-still-exist
<em>This is the latest story in our series on <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=149649575" target="_blank">money in politics</a>.</em><p>If you have a mortgage on your home, you can deduct the interest from your taxes. It's a popular, well-entrenched policy. But according to one policy adviser to a U.S. senator, "the mortgage-interest deduction, from a purely policy perspective ...Wed, 06 Jun 2012 06:56:00 +0000Alex Blumberg19619 at http://krwg.orgWhy Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?When Lobbyists Pay To Meet With Congressmen http://krwg.org/post/when-lobbyists-pay-meet-congressmen
<em>Yesterday, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/04/19/150904641/why-lobbyists-dodge-calls-from-congressmen" target="_blank">we reported</a> on the fundraisers that lobbyists hold for Congressmen every day in Washington. Today, we hear what happens inside those events. The stories are part of our <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/archives/archive.php?thingId=149649575" target="_blank">series on money in politics</a>.</em><p>At a typical event, there's a member of Congress and a member of his or her staff who is in charge of collecting the checks.Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:26:00 +0000Alex Blumberg16611 at http://krwg.orgWhen Lobbyists Pay To Meet With Congressmen Senator By Day, Telemarketer By Nighthttp://krwg.org/post/senator-day-telemarketer-night
<em>This is the first story in a Planet Money series on money in politics. We'll have more this afternoon on </em>All Things Considered<em>, and this weekend on </em>This American Life<em>.</em><p>We think of lawmakers having one job: making laws. But there's a second job most lawmakers have to do. And it's a big job.<p>"I think most Americans would be shocked — not surprised, but shocked — if they knew how much time a United States senator spends raising money," says Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:48:00 +0000Alex Blumberg15293 at http://krwg.orgSenator By Day, Telemarketer By NightJack Abramoff Explains The 'Lobbyist Safecracker Method'http://krwg.org/post/jack-abramoff-explains-lobbyist-safecracker-method
Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been making the rounds lately. He's out of prison. He has a new book. He's in a talkative mood. So I figured it was a good time to ask him about the business of lobbying — not about what he did that was illegal, but about the ordinary, legal stuff.<p>The firm he worked for was called Greenberg Traurig. I chose a year at random when Abramoff was working there, and picked a client I hoped would be fairly typical.Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:01:00 +0000Alex Blumberg3141 at http://krwg.orgJack Abramoff Explains The 'Lobbyist Safecracker Method'Forget Stocks Or Bonds, Invest In A Lobbyisthttp://krwg.org/post/forget-stocks-or-bonds-invest-lobbyist
Corporations don't lobby Congress for fun. They lobby because it helps their bottom line. Getting a regulation gutted or a tax loophole created means extra cash for the corporation. But getting laws changed can be very expensive. How much money does a corporation get back from investing in a good lobbyist?<p>It's a messy, secretive system so it was always hard to study.Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:53:00 +0000Alex Blumberg2256 at http://krwg.orgForget Stocks Or Bonds, Invest In A Lobbyist